What I Did Behind Your Back
by tanikara kohitsuji
Summary: In an AU, Katara, Sokka, and Aang live in Ba Sing Se. A comment from Sokka causes Katara and Aang to decide to try being a couple. Meanwhile, Iroh sets up Zuko and Toph. A chance run-in and suddenly things are very complicated for the two couples.
1. Chapter 1

**What I Did Behind Your Back**

Chapter 1

Iroh sighed and lowered his rotund body into a chair. His aching joints groaned in relief. He grasped the jade teapot's handle and poured himself some jasmine tea. He raised the tiny ceramic cup and sipped the hot drink experimentally. Yes, that hit the spot.

The retired general began to think through the day. Running his own teashop was difficult but fulfilling. Of course, the customers were so unique that it was never dull. Every age came to his shop, and every level of wealth frequented his restaurant.

His nephew Zuko walked through the room in the direction of the kitchen. That was when it hit Iroh. With all the girls coming to his shop, why did Zuko not have a girlfriend? Despite the angry red scar across his left eye, the young firebender was still handsome. His amber eyes were defensive but underneath that was pain that begged for gentleness. His stance was confident and strong, but every so often, it betrayed some fear.

So why did he not have any dates? Well, there had been that one, but he had never pursued the girl.

Iroh set down the cup of tea and smoothed his emerald robes. Zuko needed help. He needed a push. Someone would have to find the right girl for him. Zuko needed a girl who could see underneath his shell, could see the truth. Someone wise for her age.

"Hey, Iroh!" the young earthbending master Toph greeted the gray haired man. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course, Toph," Iroh replied. The girl sat down in a chair, and her sightless eyes seemed to regard the elderly firebender.

"I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I know this guy who…"

Iroh's mind wandered back to his problem. Who fit that description? Zuko wandered back into the main room as Iroh pondered this dilemma.

"So what should I do?" Toph finished. Iroh turned his gaze to her. As if for the first time, he saw her black hair, bangs shadowing her eyes. He saw her delicate, pale features and her slim figure. He thought again of her intelligence and unique approach to life.

"Of course!" Iroh cried as it hit him. He leaped to his feet. "You two!" He pointed frantically at Zuko and Toph. "It's perfect! Why didn't I see it before? You two are perfect for each other! You wait here!"

He ran to the back of the shop. Zuko stood there puzzled and ran a hand through his full shaggy black hair.

"Any clue what he's talking about?" he asked the earthbender.

"No."

"Here it is!" Iroh crowed as he returned. He handed Zuko a piece of paper.

"A coupon to the Black Orchid House?" the young prince read aloud.

"You can take Toph here! A nice night out on the town for two young people," the ample man smiled broadly.

"But—"

"Tell me how it turns out!" Iroh smiled as he exited.

Zuko turned to Toph. "I think my uncle just set us up on a date."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Katara flipped her dark brown hair over her shoulder and began to twirl it around her light brown index finger. She slumped slightly in her chair as her brother began to talk to his girlfriend Suki again.

"I'm just saying I like it when you wear your makeup," Sokka said.

Katara sighed and rolled her blue eyes. Why was she even here? She had better things to do with her life than watch her brother be all mushy with his Suki.

"And I'm just saying that I don't like wearing it when we're just going out. I want to be unnoticed while I'm with you. I attract too much attention if I dress as a Kyoshi warrior," Suki explained.

Correction. Currently, they were fighting. Even worse.

"Umm, if you two are not going to strangle each other, I'm leaving," Katara announced.

"Oh! Off to meet Aang for a date?" Suki asked as the waterbender stood.

"What?" the master bender gasped.

"Well, you two hang out so much, and you look so cute together, I just assumed you were going out."

"Yeah, I thought so too," Sokka interjected.

"Umm, I don't—we're not—I mean—" Katara stuttered.

"Hey, Katara!" Aang called as he walked up. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

Katara ignored the giggling Suki and the look she exchanged with Sokka. "I didn't plan on being here. But, how about we go hang out?"

"Sounds great," Aang answered. Katara smiled and joined him.

Katara glanced at her best friend. As a master airbender and the Avatar, he was awe-inspiring and a celebrity. His clean-shaven head was easy to find in the crowd, not only because of how unusual it was on a twelve-year-old, but also because of the blue arrow tattoo on it.

"Thanks for showing up," Katara sighed. "Things were getting nasty back there. Hey, listen to this. Suki and Sokka think we're dating. As in a couple, boyfriend and girlfriend."

"What? But we're just friends," the orange and yellow clad boy laughed.

"I know, but it's funny."

They turned into a teashop called the Lotus Tile.

"Table for two," Aang told the waiter. They were escorted to a table in a quiet, cozy corner.

"Here is our menu, and your waiter will be with you shortly," the man bowed and left them alone.

The two friends contemplated the menus in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"I'm thinking I'll get the green tea," Katara spoke up.

"Jasmine tea," the airbender replied.

"What can I get the lovely couple this afternoon?" a waiter asked them.

"Wha?! We're not a couple!" the two answered in unison.

"Sure, you aren't. What'll it be?"

"Green tea for me, please," Katara managed to reply. She handed the man her menu.

"Jasmine," Aang ordered and passed in his menu.

The waiter left and his absence left an awkward silence.

"Why does everyone think we're a couple!?" the waterbender exploded.

"Maybe because we look like one and we seem like we should be together," the Avatar replied. "Maybe it would just be easier if we, you know, go out."

"You mean, on a date?"

"Yeah. That way we wouldn't have to deal with it. But we hang out so much it wouldn't be that different to be a couple."

"I guess not," Katara said slowly.

"We could just do one date and see how it turns out," the airbender pointed out.

"Okay. Soooo," she drew the word out. She bit her lower lip nervously. "What should we do?"

"Well, couples usually hold hands."

Aang moved closer and took her hand clumsily underneath the table. They smiled nervously.

"Your tea," the waiter smiled, placing their orders on the table and leaving.

They both reached for the cups with their right hands. Aang was holding Katara's left hand with his right though so their hands crashed into the table.

"Ow!" they gasped. They laughed hesitantly and used their free hands to grab the filled cups.

"To us," Aang grinned lopsidedly.

"To us," Katara smiled.

**A/N: Hey, everyone. I know. Le gasp! A new story! This one is just something that's been on my computer for a while. It's sorta a collection of chapters that I write when the mood strikes, so don't expect a regular update! If you read my stuff regularly, you probably know not to anyway, but still. This will just be done probably between writing for my Aladdin retelling.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Zuko ran a hand through his messy hair. Toph gnawed on the inside of her cheek and tapped her foot. She wore her typical attire of a green and gold headband and an off-white robe over a green jumpsuit-like robe.

"You know you look a lot like a guy?" Zuko spat out.

"What's it to you, Prince Emo?" she sneered back.

"Well, you could have dressed like a girl so I wouldn't look—you know," he broke off.

Toph used earthbending to kick a large rock up in front of him, catapulting him several yards.

"Jerk," she muttered.

Zuko jumped to his feet, seething. "What was that for?!" he shouted as he brushed off some dirt from his green robes. "You should be grateful! Thanks to my uncle, you actually have something to do tonight!"

"Look," Toph growled, "let's just get this over with. Go out once, and then he'll never bother us again."

"Fine," he snarled and led the way toward the Black Orchid House.

* * *

"Oh, hi, Aang," Katara greeted him. She stepped out from behind the door. Her blue kimono had blue-white orchids that reached upward from the hem to her knees. Her eyes had blue makeup on them making them seem as blue as the ocean. Her dark hair was pulled up into a braided bun.

"Hey," he smiled. "You look great."

"Thanks," she replied, touching her mother's necklace. "Shall we?"

"Sure."

She stepped into the street and shut the door behind her.

"Soo…" she trailed off at the end.

"I thought we would go to the Black Orchid House for dinner and then for a walk around town," Aang informed her. His outfit was the same yellow shirt and pants and orange cloak. His brown shoes made only a whisper of sound on the ground due to his airbending.

They entered the restaurant. The room was lit by candles and paper lamps, giving it a romantic atmosphere.

"Table for two," Aang said, and they were led to a dark wood table. Aang pulled out Katara's chair, and she sat. The employee left the menus and left silently.

They quietly discussed the menu and gave the waiter their orders. But as they waited for their meals to arrive, an uncomfortable silence settled in.

Katara licked her lips and pressed them together. "Soooooo."

"Yeah?" Aang answered.

"Umm…I just—I need to use the bathroom," she stammered and excused herself. She went into the room and breathed a sigh of relief. This was not what she had expected her first date to be like.

* * *

Zuko set his utensils down and sighed. Toph still silently nibbled at her food. He watched her for a minute then stood.

"I'm going to go outside for a bit," he told her and left. Even his date with that girl Jin had been better than this! He barreled toward the front of the restaurant where the restrooms were.

* * *

"Okay, you can do this, Katara," the waterbender told herself as she left the restroom. "It's just Aang." She began to make her way toward the table when someone slammed into her.

"Ow!" she yelped as she hit the ground.

* * *

Zuko hadn't even seen the girl until he was on top of her on the floor. He sat up, disengaging his lips from hers. He looked at her wide blue eyes, full of shock and horror. He had just kissed her. It was not intended, but as they fell, it just happened.

She sat up slowly and then flushed a vivid shade of pink. A perfect hand flew to her soft mouth. Her smooth brown skin was almost golden in the candlelight, and he could not stop staring at her. Her dark brown hair was elegantly pulled up into a bun, and he longed to see it cascading down her back.

He felt a blush stealing up his cheeks because of how long he been staring at her.

"I'm sorry," he began as he stood. "It's all my fault. You see, I was just desperate to get away from my date and not looking around." He reached down and helped her up.

"It's okay," she smiled, having recovered slightly. "You're here on a date too?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean, sort of?"

"Well, my uncle set me up on it. I don't actually like the girl." Why had he said that? "So, you're here with your boyfriend. How long have you known him?"

"About a year, but we don't like each other. We're just together because everybody kept calling us a couple. So we figured we'd try it and see how it worked."

* * *

Katara did not know who this young man was, but he was good-looking. His ebony hair was long and shaggy, and she had to resist the urge to run her fingers through it. An angry red scar ran across his left eye, but she found it attractive and thought it added character to his face. It was his eyes that held her though. They were the color of gold and scintillated like the sun, like flames. They were distant and yet so vulnerable underneath that.

And she had kissed him. Not on purpose, but still. He was her first kiss. And although she knew she had no right to, she wanted to get to know him better. She wanted to know if his lips were really as warm as they had seemed in that brief contact, and if he always tasted like chicken and oranges and charcoal.

"…but we don't like each other," she said. She did not realize she had said until it was out. The waterbender wanted to take back the words, but at the same time, she wanted him to know that.

"Do you want to join me outside?" he asked.

"What about our dates?" Katara gasped.

She was pretty sure he muttered something inappropriate under his breath. What was his name? She wanted to know, was desperate to know.

Her mind flitted to how his lean body had felt a few minutes ago. Taut with energy, with something she did not want to think about. Something she did not want to think she could arouse. But at the thought of his body, she began to wonder what it looked like. What his chest as muscled as she thought it was? He had lifted her effortlessly (or at least it seemed so).

"…we could just stay out there for a little while," he paused and gave her an odd look. "Why are you staring at me?"

She turned bright red and headed toward the door. She welcomed the cool night air, rapidly sapping her warm cheeks of the burning sensation.

"Feeling better?" the boy asked dryly.

Katara resisted the urge to jump. She considered it for a second. She had not been gone that long. Her food would not be there for a while. Would Aang notice? She wanted to know the taste of this stranger's lips again desperately.

"Come with me," she whispered in his ear, her lips brushing him slightly. She disappeared into the darkened alley near the restaurant. He followed her. She tried not to touch him again. But her limbs were trembling from the effort and excitement? Fear? Who knew? But she was determined to find out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

As soon as the street was a distant glimmer of light, Katara faced this hypnotically handsome teenaged boy. "Who are you?"

He looked at her blue eyes, fierce with determination and a sparkle of excitement. He wondered why she was excited.

"Zuko," he replied. His gaze strayed to her soft lips. He wanted to feel them again. They had been so soft. "And you are?"

"Katara," she stated. "And wh—"

But she never finished her question because Zuko kissed her.

Oh, she felt so good. He kissed her deeper and he heard her moan slightly. Her arms encircled his neck as his wrapped around her.

Katara was shocked when Zuko suddenly began to kiss her. And quite passionately. (Not that she had that much to go by.) Her head began to swim. She felt his lean, taut body against hers. He wanted more, and, oh, she wanted to give him so much. She heard herself moan distantly.

It felt so good. He did taste like chicken and oranges and so faintly of charcoal. He smelled like man and charcoal and soap. He was warm and firm. She pushed away from him slightly and slid her hands across his shirt. She found the buttons and fumbled slightly in her anticipation. She slipped it off his shoulders and her trembling fingers traced his chest and up around those broad shoulders.

They seemed to have a life of their own, her hands. They weaved themselves into his shaggy hair as they kissed again. How did she know how to do this? It was instinctive, this knowledge on how to make him kiss her deeper.

He moved away from her mouth, kissing his way down her neck. She gasped and tilted her head to give him more room. He stopped at her kimono's collar and traveled up her coffee neck, back to her mouth.

His hands ran up and down her back, which arched appreciatively. They moved away from there, spiriting themselves along her sides.

Then suddenly, Katara pushed herself away. "Stop!" she stated breathily. "I need to go back. W-we both do." Her chest heaved.

They began to think and quickly set themselves in order. Zuko buttoned his shirt, flushing at the thought that her hands had been there. She straightened her collar and tucked stray hairs back into her coiffure. He smoothed his hair rapidly. He glanced at her, beautiful in the dim light and breathless still. His eyes rested on her lips, memories flashing across his mind.

"Your lips are swollen," he broke the silence.

"So are yours."

He laughed a little then.

"How do I look?" she asked.

He took her in. The dress covering her slim figure, her face, her hair. He wanted to say she looked perfect, bewitching in the dim light. But he didn't. His eyes strayed to her neck and he noticed a hickey partially hidden under her collar. Staring at that, Zuko found it very hard to remember that they couldn't stay out here, that he shouldn't kiss her.

"You look fine," he answered, his voice a little gruff.

Katara waited for a minute after that, expectant for some unknown reason. She didn't know why but she felt like something should happen now. Maybe it was the way Zuko's eyes appeared. Slightly unfocused and yet not at the same time.

"I'll go inside first," she finally said. She left him and reentered the restaurant.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was less than a minute after Katara excused herself that Aang saw her. The girl was petite with coal black hair. She didn't look to be older than himself. He stared at her for a moment, taking in her porcelain pale skin, her long bangs that shadowed her eyes and framed her face. His gaze took in the slight tilt of her head, the way her neck tucked into her collar.

The airbender stood then and crossed the room to her table. He didn't know what he intended to do, but he had to talk to her. Drawn to her like a moth to a flame, he stopped in front of her.

"Hey," he said.

The girl started and turned her head toward him.

He saw her eyes then. Clouded and sightless, they looked straight through him. And yet they seemed to be all the more beautiful for that imperfection.

"I didn't even hear you walk up. I didn't see you either," she answered.

_See? But you're blind?_ As he stared at her though, he began to wonder if maybe the spirits had given her a different kind of sight. The ability to see people, past the mask, into their souls. Perhaps they had given her this ability to make up for the fact she couldn't physically see with her eyes.

"How did you sneak up on me?" she asked. "I didn't even hear you walk up."

His entire body thrilled at the sound of her voice. It was kinda deep for a girl, almost boyish. But not in a creepy way.

"I'm an airbender," he replied. "Can I join you?"

"Sure." She shrugged. "My date is nowhere in sight. Probably ditched me. Not that I really care. I should have ditched him as soon as he said I looked like a guy."

Aang couldn't believe anyone would think this girl to be anything except a female. Her face was too perfectly delicate for a guy's. Obviously her date was a dolt.

"Why are you with him then?"

"We were set up by his crazy uncle," she answered, kicking her feet up to rest on a nearby chair. She stretched out, hands behind her head, completely at ease. The young Avatar was suddenly finding it very hard not to stare at her. Not that she would know if he did. But it would still be rude. Even if it was a very inviting thought.

"You're lucky," he spoke up. Better to talk. That way he wouldn't think about how soft her lips looked in the candlelight. Or how pretty her cloudy green-grey eyes were. "My date and I were set up by everybody in the world."

She laughed brazenly, head thrown back. Aang gave up trying to keep his gaze off her then, and let his eyes sweep over the vulnerable snow-white expanse of her neck.

"I'm Toph," she said when she stopped laughing. "And you are?"

"Aang," he whispered.

"You're funny, Twinkletoes," she smiled.

He couldn't breathe for a moment. The pure happiness on her face transformed her into something almost ethereal. Too beautiful to be real, yet also so earthbound that she had to be something here on this world.

He kissed her then. Caught her lips with his, and Aang learned that she was so very real.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Toph had never had someone sneak up on her. Yet this boy, with the most soothing heartbeat she had ever felt, had done the impossible. She felt a surge of admiration for him in that moment. He had actually been able to beat her unparalleled sense of hearing and talent for "seeing" with her feet. She marveled as her laughter, her smile, the mere sound of her voice sent his heart racing.

How on earth was she doing that? And how could she continue to cause it?

When he kissed her, she stopped thinking. It felt wonderful, his lips on hers. And in that brief moment of touch, she learned how to _breathe_. As soon as he had though, he leaned back, breaking contact.

She was silent for a moment, dazed by her first ever kiss.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I-I couldn't help myself."

"It's ok." Really it's ok. "I… I didn't mind."

"I should get going," Aang said.

She could barely feel the vibrations of him standing. But she knew what she had to do.

Toph stood and moved faster than she ever had before. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought her chest might burst but she needed to do this. She caught his head and kissed him. And this moment, she didn't need to see. With this boy, she would never have to have eyesight. With him, all she needed was touch.

Aang froze when her lips first touched his. However, he caught on quickly. The kiss was over all too soon though.

"I should get back to my table," he mumbled. "I am still on a date."

"Oh, right," she answered just as hurriedly. "I'll see you then."

"Saturday, at one?" he asked hesitantly.

She felt her heart flutter a little at his words. He liked her! Enough to ask her out on a real date! Unless he just wanted to be friends first despite the kisses they had shared. Just meet him again, she told herself. Figure out the whole to be friends or not to be friends thing later.

"Sure," she confirmed.

"Okay. Bye," he said as he headed back to his table.

Toph felt the vibrations of a girl come through the door, then head over to Aang's table. A few minutes later, she felt Zuko's stomp in and over to her.

"Good to see you're in such a great mood," she huffed. "Are we done now?"

Zuko glanced over somewhere then back to her. "Yeah." He paid the bill and the two mismatched benders left.


End file.
